Customer Reviews

CITYSONG

by
david jeansson

Brian Protheroe's New Single and 17 Bonus Tracks
Brian Protheroe released three critically acclaimed but commercially overlooked LPs on the Chrysalis label in the 1970s. They reflected an intelligent art-rock/cabaret hybrid, full of sly sophistication, wit, and clever songs. But whether he didn't fit in with the times, or simply wasn't effectively marketed by his label, Protheroe eventually left the music business and embarked on a far more successful career in British TV and theater.
This album features Protheroe's return to pop music, with a new single ("Citysong") and 17 selections from his archives.
Protheroe writes in the liner notes:
"In June 2000 I was in Northampton, Massachusetts with atheatre company called 'Out of joint.' We were performing in a theatre on the Smith College campus. One day ourhosts took some of us on a guided hike across a beautifulmountain range called the Seven Sisters, overlooking theConnecticut river and ending at the Summit House on MountHolyoke, which was a hotel in the 19th century.That evening I was doodling on the theatre piano and theexperiences of the day started to come together into a song.The song has haunted me since, so in November, 2003I decided to record it with the help of a friend, Neil McArthur.I then started to wonder if I had enough material for somesort of album. I listened to various old tapes of ancient studio recordings, demos, doodles, live shows, etc. and puttogether what I felt was an interesting ragbag of a collection.The original title of the album was to have been 'Tasty Leftovers,' but the Basta label, who were releasing it, thought this a little dismissive. So the designer PietSchreuders and I came up with the presentconcept. Hope you like it."

How shocking !

by
ticnatz

As I sat here, like many evenings, scouring thru my old LPs trying to find my old favorites, which might be available on iTunes, I typed in the name Brian Protheroe. Like many of these old and long-forgotten albums, I expected to get the old "sorry, no info in our database" screen. But to my great shock, I get a hit. A new album? 2005? What, is this the same guy? Well, apparently so! I have had the 1974 LP "Pinball" in my collection as a treasured relic for ages. It is one of my most closely held favorite jewels from my youth. And classic most because I thought it to be completely unknown. I suppose it still is as iTunes doesn't offer it
(but should). I will buy this new album simply on the power of the fact that the 31 year old record
means so much to me. Thanks for taking another stab Brian!

Biography

Born: June 16, 1944 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England

Genre: Pop

Years Active: '70s

Best known in Britain as an actor who sustained a career on screen and stage for over four decades, Brian Protheroe is also known for a clutch of soft rock records he made as a singer/songwriter in the '70s. In particular, Protheroe was known for "Pinball," an exquisite piece of post-McCartney pop that reached 22 on the U.K. Singles charts in 1974 and subsequently earned a cult following over the years, as did the four albums he cut for Chrysalis in the mid-'70s, which later were compiled on the...